Mysterious Guest
by albosham
Summary: When Yoshi stays with the Toad Bros., they may not know quite as much about the dinosaur as they thought.
1. Nightmares

It was a dark night in The Mushroom Kingdom. The towers were black silhouettes across the landscape, and the Mushroom Hills and light shade of grey. In downtown, a figure shot through the streets, followed by another larger figure. As the first figure shot under a streetlight, a flash of green appeared. The second figure showed red.

The first figure quickly outran the other, who seemed to shake its fist in revenge. The figure shot down the street to a Mushroom house, to find one light still on.

It grabbed its keys, unlocked the door, and slowly walked inside to the living room. It was dark, except for a singular night light.

Meanwhile, Blue Toad was talking to Yellow Toad in his bedroom. The light was still on, but the rest were off. Except, that is, for a night light downstairs.

"Where's Yoshi?" asked Blue Toad. "He's always out so late, and it's dangerous out there."

"Beats me," replied his brother, who was reading a novel. "He's a fighter; he'll be alright."

Just then, they heard the door creak open downstairs.

"Now, that better be Yoshi," sighed Yellow sleepily as he flicked the hallway light on.

He trudged down the stairs and heard footsteps coming from the kitchen.

"Yeah, that's Yoshi," he thought to himself.

Yellow Toad turned the light on to find Yoshi's large nose buried in the refrigerator.

"Well, if it isn't Yoshi," commented Yellow. Yoshi quickly looked up, then down again.

"Uh…h-hi Yellow Toad," he said nervously, still peering into the food.

"Are you hiding something?"

"N-no," replied the dinosaur. "Why?"

"You won't even look at me," replied the Toad. "Seriously, what's up?"

Yoshi sighed, and then turned his head to Yellow Toad. He gasped as he saw Yoshi's face covered with bruises and some blood.

"What the-

"It's okay," he reassured. Yellow Toad had a sense to overreact to minor injuries. But this wasn't minor.

"W-who?" Yellow Toad sputtered.

"No one, I just fell down a few times in downtown," replied Yoshi.

Yellow Toad wasn't convinced.

"I know you're lying, Yoshi."

"What? I'm not."

"You're twitching around a lot. Does it have something to do with you staying out there so late?" Yellow asked.

"Of course not. I'm just visiting a fellow Yoshi, that's all."

"Is that Yoshi beating you up or what?"

"No."  
Yellow Toad sighed. He knew he wouldn't get anything out of Yoshi, so he just shrugged it off.

"Well, it's late. Let's all go to sleep, okay?" he asked. He walked upstairs with Yoshi following.

Yellow Toad had a hard time sleeping. He wondered what happened to his green friend.

Yoshi couldn't sleep. He wondered how to explain everything to his yellow friend.

Blue Toad was sound asleep, so he had nothing to worry about yet.

Next morning, Yellow Toad got up early to make breakfast when someone knocked at the door. Since last time, the Toads had gotten a stool so they could reach the peephole. All he could see was a large red circle. He opened the door the find a Red Yoshi.

"Hello," he said.

"Hi," said the Yoshi. His voice was gruff and he had clenched fists. "Is Yoshi home?"

Yellow Toad looked at the fists and knew it wasn't for good reason. Plus, the Yoshi looked pretty angry.

"Er, sorry. Did you want to tell him something?" Yellow Toad lied.

"Just tell him Red's gonna visit him in downtown this afternoon," replied the Yoshi.

"Okie dokie, I will. Ba-bye!" Yellow Toad said, slamming the door shut.

"Who IS that?"

Yellow Toad climbed upstairs and shook Yoshi awake.

"Psst!"

Yoshi didn't wake up.

"Hello?"

Yoshi still didn't wake up.

"He's out good," thought Yellow Toad. Then he remembered something he bought a few years back after Yoshi had an "accident" on the carpet. He got a box out from his drawer. The box contained a whistle, and Yellow Toad blew it as hard as he could.

"AAAUUGGGHHH!" yelped Yoshi. "IT'S GOT ME!"

"What?" asked Yellow Toad, still grasping the whistle.

"Oh, uh, hey," Yoshi said. He looked at the whistle.

"Oh, you used that thing."

"Yeah," said Yellow Toad. "Yoshi, some red guy wanted to meet you in downtown this afternoon."

Yoshi's countenance was uneasy. "Uh, okay. Thanks, Yellow."


	2. Yoshi's Story

Yellow Toad was confused. Yoshi left for downtown already, so he and Blue Toad were alone. Both were playing New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but Yellow wanted to talk to his brother about their guest. Blue was upset Yellow Toad got to actually play as himself, but shook it off.

"What's wrong with Yoshi?" asked Blue Toad.

"I don't know. He won't tell me anything," replied Yellow.

"Did it have something to do with the Red Yoshi that wanted to see him?"

Yellow Toad shrugged his shoulders. There was no way to find out unless…

"We spied on him!" he said in wonder.

Blue Toad stared at his brother. "We can't STALK Yoshi wherever he goes!" he laughed. "That'll make us seem creepy! Besides, we have our own lives, too!"

"But I'm concerned," replied the yellow mushroom.

"So am I, but we have to leave it up to Yoshi to take care of his problems. We can't be his parents," Blue added. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Yellow still wasn't certain that he was going to sit back while Yoshi was being beat up somewhere.

"I don't have a good feeling about that Red Yoshi."

"Me neither, but what can we do?" Blue asked.

"Don't know," Yellow sighed.

"By the way, why was Yoshi been asking us for a million coins?" Blue Toad wondered.

"Beats me. Maybe he was on another sugar rush."

"Or a debt he has to pay?" Blue asked.

"Possibly. But like you said, we have to let Yoshi do his own business." Yellow replied. The brothers continued their game.

Meanwhile, Yoshi was wandering through downtown. Toads, Toads, and more Toads were everywhere, not to mention a few of his own kind plus rebellious Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and other used-to-be Bowser minions.

He slipped between a group of Shy Guys and into an alleyway. It was dark, damp, and smelly, but this was a shortcut to the other side of downtown, which was a bit more run-down. Buildings had peeling paint, poor architecture, and a melancholy feel to them. Gangsters sporting sagging pants and ripped shirts hung out in this part of town. Some eyed the green dinosaur suspiciously, but ignored him. Yoshi was relieved, but remembered who he was meeting. He felt sick to his stomach.

"Well, it's you."

Yoshi spun around to find Red Yoshi. He was wearing sunglasses to cover his eyes and a hat with a Red Yoshi egg on it.

"You got the money?" he asked.

"U-uh…n-not really," stuttered Yoshi. "Give me 'til nine and I'll have it."

"That's what you said yesterday," said Red, growing angrier. "Do I need to beat your *&$ again? Or will you give me the money?"

Yoshi took off in a run, speeding through the streets and alleyways. He burst into the civilized part of downtown, and Red Yoshi chased him. They ran back into the gangster area soon after. Several Toads looked over, but they didn't know anything about what was going on, so ignored them. Now Yoshi wished they'd pay attention.

Red Yoshi kicked Yoshi in the back, knocking him down. He dragged him into his car, and then drove to his house, located in the Lower Part of Toad Town, where they were.

Red tossed Yoshi in and knocked him to the floor again.

"WHERE'S THE MONEY?!"

"I-I don't have it!"

"Do you need the Marios to get those million coins all over again, just for you?!"

"N-no! It's just that times have been tough, a-and I have things to-

"Where is it, man?!" Red yelled, before striking Yoshi in the head several times.

"Look, I-OW!"

"That's right. Don't bring Red the money, you pay for it."

"I'm s-sorry, I'll give it to you tomorrow!" Yoshi gasped. By now, he was bleeding and had more bruises than yesterday.

"It better be here by then," Red threatened. "If not, don't expect to have skin."

Yoshi gulped.

"Now, get the &^%* out of my house." Red literally threw Yoshi out the door.

"And you'd better not tell anyone about this!"

His head hurt. He trudged slowly back to the Toad Bros.' house, thinking of a way to explain all of this, and most of all, how to get the million coins.

Yoshi couldn't find a way to wash off, so he had to walk into the house with his injuries. Yellow Toad panicked, and now, so did Blue Toad.

"C'mon, Yoshi, we're your friends," reassured Blue.

"Yeah, you can tell us what's going on."

Yoshi sighed, and then looked away. "I-I kind of don't want to talk about this."

"It'll help if you do," said Yellow.

"No it won't!" Yoshi sobbed. "I'll NEVER find a million coins!"

Yellow and Blue Toad looked at each other, exchanging confused looks.

"What million coins? What are you talking about?" asked the blue mushroom.

Yoshi sighed again.

"I guess I'll have to tell you so you'll understand."

It was a nice and sunny day in Toad Town. Yoshi was staying with his friends, Blue Toad and Yellow Toad, since Dinosaur Land was being attacked and it was unsafe.

He was strolling through a park (Yellow and Blue had errands to run, so he was alone) when he met a Red Yoshi. He looked like any other, so Yoshi assumed he was safe.

"Hey," said the Red Yoshi. Yoshi spun around, eyeing him.

"Yes?"

"C'mere."

Yoshi was suspicious, but did so anyways.

"Do you need help?" he asked.

The Red Yoshi had an evil glint in his eye. "Would you mind?"

"Not at all!" replied Yoshi.

"I have this problem, you see, back at my place. I need another fellow Yoshi like you to help. Could you?"

"Sure!" Yoshi exclaimed.

Red Yoshi led the way, and Yoshi followed closely behind.

"Hey, this is the sketchy part of Toad Town," Yoshi said.

"That it is. I'm not that rich," smiled the Red Yoshi.

"Okay...?"

Red Yoshi opened the door for Yoshi, and locked the door behind him.

"Uh, why did you lock the door?" he asked.

"Because, I want this to not be seen by wandering eyes," laughed Red. He now didn't hide the evilness.

"W-what are you gonna do?" asked Yoshi.

Red didn't say anything. He knocked Yoshi to the ground with a firm kick.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"You heard the part about me not being rich?"

Yoshi nodded.

"Well, a rich little guy like you could help CHANGE that, huh?" asked Red rhetorically.

"W-what? No! I wouldn't" Yoshi gasped.

"You're gonna pay one way or another," remarked the Red Yoshi. He punched Yoshi again.

"L-look, please don't..." Yoshi started.

"I will, unless you give me money," replied Red.

"How much?!" Yoshi yelped.

"One million coins." he responded.  
"What?! That's outrageous!"

"Alright then, you wanted it," said the evil Yoshi.

He continually beat up the poor dinosaur until he finally blurted out-  
"P-please stop! I'll pay you!" Yoshi begged.

"That's more like it."  
Red dropped Yoshi onto the floor. He heaved heavily, gasping for air.

"Bring it to me next Tuesday, or else," threatened Red.

He threw Yoshi out the door, leaving him whimpering on the streets of run-down Toad Town.

"What does this guy look like?" asked Yellow.

"Uh, black shades and a cap with a Red Yoshi egg."  
"Wait, what?!" Blue and Yellow exclaimed in unison.

"Remember him?"

"Oh my gosh, yeah!"

"What? You've seen him before?" asked Yoshi.

"Yeah, we have. In fact, we've worked with him," replied the yellow mushroom.

"We have a story about him, too," Blue Toad added.


	3. The Missing Yoshi

"What does this guy look like?" asked Yellow.

"Uh, black shades and a cap with a Red Yoshi egg."  
"Wait, what?!" Blue and Yellow exclaimed in unison.

"Remember him?"

"Oh my gosh, yeah!"

"What? You've seen him before?" asked Yoshi.

"Yeah, we have. In fact, we've worked with him," replied the yellow mushroom.

"We have a story about him, too," Blue Toad added.

"A while ago," began Blue Toad, we embarked on our first real adventure. It's better known here as _New Super Mario Bros. Wii._"

"Oh yeah!" exclaimed the green dinosaur.

"Nintendo wanted to make a game about us, and they also wanted to reintroduce the Yoshis," said Yellow. "They brought in a few, such as Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green, like you, Yoshi."  
"Wait, but in the final game, there was no red," Yoshi said.

Yellow and Blue nodded. "They took a promo picture of me riding him," responded Blue Toad. "He was nice enough, but as time went on, he wore the hat and glasses."

"It must have boasted his ego, and he became a conceited jerk to Mario, Luigi, us, and the other Yoshis," added the yellow mushroom.

"One day, the Mario Bros. and us Toads talked back to him," said Blue. "We didn't even do it harshly, but he took it hard. After that, he didn't even wanna help us. Nintendo had to get a Pink Yoshi, who was much nicer."

"Definitely," Blue Toad noted.

"Later on, right before _Super Mario Galaxy 2_ when we'd go into space again, I was told his personality got worse," Yellow said.

"Who told you?" asked Yoshi.

"Toad."

"Like, the HEAD Toad? The one with the red cap and blue vest?"  
"Yup. We told him all about that Red Yoshi afterwards, and he heard from the Marios that things hadn't gotten better." Blue replied.

"Did Toad do anything?" Yoshi wondered.

"Oh, he did something alright," Yellow laughed.

"Kicked his sorry butt down to the Lower Parts, where he could fit in," smirked Blue.

"Really?" asked Yoshi. "I wasn't aware Toad was that powerful."

"He's stronger than Mario, Luigi, and the princess," said the yellow mushroom.

Then they all thought.

"I think we found our solution," said Yoshi.


	4. Fight of the Night

Red Yoshi was hanging out under a streetlight in the Lower Parts. He was smoking a cigarette and was just putting it out when a Mushroom car called the "Mushmellow" pulled up in the faint darkness. It parked on the curb, and a small figure hopped out.

The Yoshi looked over, but ignored it.

"Hey," it said. The voice sounded familiar to Red Yoshi.

"What do you want?" he asked gruffly.

The guy didn't say anything. He walked under the streetlight to reveal he was...

"T-Toad!"

"That's my name," he smiled. "Don't wear it out."

"W-what are y-you doing h-here?" sputtered Red. He took his sunglasses off in shock.

"Ah, I see why you'd think that. I surely don't believe...eh...in such terrible building conditions," Toad said, looking around.

"Listen," he continued. "I heard from some Toads that you've been beating Yoshi."

"What? Who told you that?" asked a surprised Red Yoshi.

"That doesn't matter," replied Toad sternly.

"W-why are you here?"

"Why do you think?"

Toad didn't wait for a response. He quickly ran toward the Yoshi and kicked him down.

Red didn't stop either. He got up and his tongue lurched at the mushroom, but he quickly dodged it. Toad grabbed his tongue instead and tugged on it in a tough manner. The Yoshi shrieked and pulled his tongue back.

Toad then disappeared into the darkness.

Red Yoshi looked around in horror. He was frightened; Toad blended in perfectly with the nighttime backdrop. The streetlights provided no insights to the whereabouts of the mushroom man, so he stumbled around in the dark waiting for him to pop out again.

A puff of air flew by Red, causing him to spin around in terror.

"T-Toad?"  
No answer.

Footsteps clicked and clacked in the night, but there was no indication as to where they came from.

"H-hello?" asked Red Yoshi, sounding like a scared Luigi from _Luigi's Mansion_.

"You'd think a guy who wears a white cap would be easy to see in the night," he thought.

Meanwhile, Toad was watching from atop a building. The moon cast a soft, gentle light so he could spot the culprit of the beatings. It was here that his plan hatched.

The mushroom's jumping abilities never were all that great, so he had to triple-jump just to get to regular jumping height (that is, according to the Mario Bros. and the Toad Bros.) However, his strength was like that of a superhero, making him an underdog.

Toad hopped down from the tower and in front of the Yoshi. He still couldn't see, so he bumped into Toad.

"Looking for someone?" he asked. Red screamed, and Toad used his power to pick him up.

"Woaah!"

Toad threw the Yoshi far down the street. He ran down to find him still lying on the ground, and Toad hopped on top of him.

"Now look here, man," he started.

"Please stop!" interrupted Red. He was remembering last time there was trouble and Toad took care of it.

"I will if you leave me and my friends alone."

"Fine!"

"That's better," Toad said. He jumped off, leaving Red Yoshi to scramble off, his hat and glasses falling off from the speed.

"That was AWESOME, Toad!" cried Yoshi. He and the Toad Bros. were waiting atop another tower. They had seen everything.

"Don't mention it," smiled Toad. "Anything for a friend."

"Just like last time, eh?" laughed Blue.

"Just like last time," agreed the red-spotted mushroom.

"We'd best be off," said Yellow Toad. "It's dangerous being out here so late."

"True," concurred Toad.

"Drop by and visit some time!" Yoshi exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's the least we could do to thank you!" Blue Toad added.

"Take care of yourselves, okay?" Toad said. He hopped into his Mushmellow, then took off, waving goodbye to the trio.

"It's times like this why Toad isn't in Super Smash Bros. or something," Blue commented.

At home, Toad rested from his fight. It was huge, no doubt, and it was tiring. The head mushroom sat down with his "Best Mushroom Retainer" mug and sipped from his coffee. He thought about his fellow mushroom buddies and Yoshi. It had been a while since he last visited them, true, and he had never visited all of them together. He took out his cell phone to find a few notifications; a love-text message from Toadette (which he gladly responded to), a few emails, and updates. Besides Toadette, Toad ignored his notifications. He searched through his contacts for Yellow Toad's home phone number.

At the Toad Bros.' (and Yoshi's) house, the phone rang.

"Hello?" asked Blue Toad. They had just gotten home and were surprised to find their phone ringing.

"Heya Blue," said Toad. "Mind if I drop by tomorrow?"

"Sure! I just have to get everyone's OK with that."

Soon, everything was set up. They'd all go to a lunch together, then settle down at home.

"See you tomorrow!" Blue Toad said enthusiastically.

Both ends hung up, and Toad sighed happily. He was good friends, possibly best friends, with all three of them.

"It's a shame we haven't seen each other in so long," he thought to himself. After that, he went to bed. He needed energy for tomorrow.


	5. Diner Dash

Noon the next day, Toad walked into Daisy's Diner (the owner was, obviously, Daisy). Daisy waved a hi, and Toad waved back.

Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, and Yoshi were sitting at a booth. Toad sat next to Yoshi.

"So what's been going on?" asked Yellow.  
"Eh...not been too busy lately," sighed Toad. "Just running the Toad Houses again. What about you guys?"

"I've got two games coming up," replied Yoshi.

"We're starring in New Super Luigi U after New Super Mario Bros. U," added Blue Toad.

"I'll probably be running the Toad Houses then, too."

For lunch, Yoshi ordered a mushroom pizza (Toad gave him an evil glare), and the Toads ordered egg-omelettes (Yoshi glared back). Meals in the Mushroom Kingdom are controversial.

"So anyways, I hea-" Toad started before being interrupted by a large noise outside.

"What the World 8...?" Yoshi muttered.

A group of Yoshis stood outside the diner, causing a great commotion. Red Yoshi was the leader of the pack.

Daisy looked up from the counter.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" she yelled.

"WHERE'S YOSHI?" he bellowed.

"Oh crap."

"Quick, hide!" whispered Yellow Toad. Yoshi crawled under the table, but his big nose revealed his hiding spot.

"Ey! What are you doing there, green guy?" Red asked.

"What do you want?" Yoshi whimpered.

Toad hopped down from the booth between Yoshi and Red Yoshi.

"Yeah, what do you want?!"

"Your friend. Move aside, midget!" he replied, shoving the mushroom boy down.

He grabbed Yoshi by the hand and dragged him away.

"Help!" he cried.

"Come back here!" shouted Toad, followed by Blue and Yellow.

A deep-yellow and black Yoshi hopped between the mushrooms and their green friend. Their tongues elongated, trying to grab the Toads' arms. They ducked, and the shots missed.

Toad ran quickly toward the Yoshis, bending his head right before collision so that his mushroom hat faced them. He knocked Yellow and Black Yoshi over.

"Yoshi!" cried Blue Toad. He grabbed a burger from a Koopa.

"Sorry! I need this for a sec."  
"Eat up!" Yellow said.

Yoshi's tongue popped out from his mouth, aiming for the hamburger. Blue Toad grabbed it just in time.

"Ha ha! I got it!"

He pulled on it, loosening Red's grip.

"Hey!"

Red was focusing so much on holding on to Yoshi that he didn't realize Toad had disappeared.

The red-spotted mushroom quietly grabbed a stool. He motioned to Daisy asking if it was okay, and she nodded back. He climbed behind Red, preparing his attack.

CLANG!

Red Yoshi fell down with a thud. The customers all looked at Toad.

"What? It's self-defense!"

The Kingdom's police came by, arresting Red.

"It's not over yet!" he yelled. "You wait and see!" He was dragged into the police car and it sped away.

Yoshi looked over at Toad.

"Do you think he'll be back?" he asked.

"Maybe," replied Toad gravely.

"If he is, then we can always call Toad!" laughed Yellow Toad.

Red Yoshi stared out the car as it drove toward the police department.

"I will be back."

All right, everything's done now! Review, review, review, and be sure to check out my other stories!

All these characters belong to Nintendo.


End file.
